Tablet from Kish (circa 3500 BC)
The usefulness of reading is undeniable. But the answers to the questions “How exactly is reading fiction useful?” and “Which books do you prefer to read?” vary depending on the sources. The text below is my version of the answer to these questions.
I'll start with the obvious point that not all literary genres are equally useful.
I would single out three main areas of thinking that literature develops: a base of some information (factology), methods of thinking (methods of reasoning, including examples) and borrowed experience (awareness of what is happening, worldview, social practices, etc.) . Literature as such is very diverse, and the transition from special to artistic is very smooth. There are various types of literature (in addition to fiction, there are reference, technical, historical and documentary, memoirs, educational) and a large number of intermediate forms, which are sometimes difficult to identify unambiguously. In my opinion, in a practical sense, they are distinguished by which particular areas of the human mind from those listed above they pump more: factology, methodology, experience.
Naturally, technical and reference literature will more strongly develop factology, educational literature - methodology, memoirs and other historical literature - experience.
Everyone can choose what he needs, like a simulator in a gym.
What about fiction? It makes it possible to put it all together in an abstract example and assimilate it. Fiction predated writing—the people, the mindset, the language, and the stories it told developed and evolved together. These are interrelated processes. The increasing amount of information requires the emergence of new words and concepts, the ability to remember and apply them stimulates the development of the thinking apparatus. Conversely, an increasingly complex mental apparatus allows one to formulate and generate more and more complex concepts. The first works of art were the most understandable and effective pedagogical techniques. They were probably hunting stories.
Vasily Perov "Hunters at rest". 1871
“Once Evrosy went for mushrooms. He scored a full basket, he hears, and someone is breaking through the bushes. He looks, and this is a bear. Well, he, of course, threw a basket, and he climbed a tree. The bear is behind him…”
This is followed by a story about how Eurosius outwitted the bear and escaped.
Gradually, these stories began to acquire techniques that supported the listener's attention, and became one of the first types of entertainment, while maintaining their educational functions. Hunting stories developed into mystical stories, ballads and sagas. Gradually, a special kind of activity appeared - the storyteller (bard), who was able to memorize large volumes of texts by heart. As writing developed, these texts began to be written down. This is how fiction appeared, combining a variety of functions, while remaining the most powerful pedagogical method.
Over time, purely entertaining literature appeared, which, as it might seem at first glance, does not carry any useful practical functions. But this, of course, is only at first glance. If you take a closer look at even the most stupid romance, then it also has a more or less coherent, albeit rail-based, plot, a dozen or so characters that somehow interact with each other. There are some spatial descriptions, intrigues, relationships, and so on. All this requires some mental effort: having to remember who is who, what the characters did and said in previous chapters, we will automatically try to predict how the plot will develop, what tricks the characters will use to achieve their goals. This and much more gradually trains and improves brain function. As you read even such fiction, vocabulary grows, a person begins to better remember and compare the actions of the characters, notice blunders and plot inconsistencies, familiar tricks and plot twists begin to seem uninteresting, and so there is a need for more and more high-quality (complex in form and meaning) works.
As a test / example, try to figure out why some obviously stupid and bad detective is bad and what exactly.
As the reading baggage grows, the reader begins to recognize references to other works and the meanings hidden in them. Following this, genre preferences also change. A fundamental novel or biography no longer seems tedious and boring, they are read with pleasure, and as a result, username sometimes (actually quite a bit) can even remember or put something into practice.
The power of fiction lies in the fact that it is insanely interesting. And you need to read what is interesting to you personally. Do not try to jump above your head and read books whose meaning eludes you almost completely. It's unlikely to do anything. It is advisable to increase the difficulty gradually, as children do. From a fairy tale to an adventure story. From adventure to detective, from detective to epic fantasy or science fiction, and so on. This process takes a whole lot of time (a lifetime), but, at a minimum, allows you to keep the brain in good shape until old age.
Source: habr.com